We brought Rachel home from her first semester of college Tuesday. We are excited to head out to Southern California to speak at a conference in a few weeks and needed to update her “I Love My Life” presentation. We’ve […]
Rachel’s first semester at college is coming to an end in a week. Her favorite class this semester was Public Speaking. Her professor wanted her to do a speech about why inclusion is important and include information on ABLE and […]
At the end of the school year, I call it IEP Season. I notice an upsurge in social media requests and pleas for help in getting a child included in the gen ed classroom. I also seem to get more […]
Emotionally, the past few weeks have been stressful. While God is not surprised by any of this, in spite of all my life experiences, I find myself surprised and disappointed. And of all things, I am surprised and disappointed in […]
For the past 10 years, today has been set aside to encourage everyone to Take the Pledge to End the use of R-word. The R-word is not Rachel. It is not respect. It is retard. We have been active in […]
Saturday when we talked to Rachel, she told us she had a ride to church Sunday. We wanted to know if she had arranged for transportation home. She said she thought so. “I think Hannah is bringing me home.” We […]
Today, Rachel starts week two of her classes at Missouri State University(MSU.) Based on her social media posts, she appears to be living the dream and appears to be very much like other college students. I will admit that most […]
Rachel is all moved in at college. She appears to be living the dream. Exhibits one, two, and three from social media: She has a great circle of support including four volunteer ambassadors (mentors.) They are awesome. More on that […]
Rachel’s favorite book in the Bible is Esther. This is a result of hours and hours of Veggie Tales. Today, as RachelsPinkHouse goes to college, I am reminded of a few of the words from Esther- she was made for […]
When we moved to Olathe, Kansas 10 years ago, I met the Palangi family. Their daughter Ella, who like Rachel has Down syndrome, was a toddler and has now grown into a beautiful young lady who is embracing middle school […]